BlackBerry buys UK mobile technology start-up Movirtu

TORONTO/LAS VEGAS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - BlackBerry
has acquired a U.K-based mobile technology start-up whose
software allows users to have multiple phone numbers on the same
device, the Canadian tech firm said on Thursday.

The purchase of Movirtu helps BlackBerry ramp up its
portfolio of services to cater to the needs of its core base of
corporate and government clients. Terms of the transaction were
not disclosed.

Movirtu's virtual SIM technology allows an individual to
have both a personal and business number on a single mobile
device, with separate billing for voice, data and messaging
usage on each number.

This allows employees to switch between work and personal
profiles easily without carrying multiple devices or SIM cards.

"Clearly this fits nicely within the strategy we have so far
articulated. We are building recurring revenue streams in
value-added services and providing more value to enterprises,"
the head of BlackBerry's enterprise unit John Sims said in an
interview.

Sims said Movirtu's technology would allow IT administrators
for example to restrict calls and emails to a work number after
a particular time, without blocking personal calls or emails to
the same device.

BlackBerry, which dominated the smartphone market in its
infancy, has been reshaping itself over the course of the last
year as its devices have lost ground to Apple's iPhone
and a slew of rival devices powered by Google's Android
operating system.

Under the leadership of its new chief executive John Chen,
the company has moved rapidly to stabilize itself by selling
certain assets, partnering to make its manufacturing and supply
chain more efficient, and raising cash via the sale of its real
estate holdings.

Chen, a well-regarded turnaround artist in the tech sector,
intends to remain a competitor in the smartphone arena, but is
focused on reshaping the company to build on its core strengths
in areas like mobile data security and mobile device management.

The company has been making small acquisitions in the last
few months, as it looks to build out its offerings for so-called
enterprise clients made up primarily by large corporations and
government agencies that are in many cases still major users of
Blackberry devices.

In July, it announced it was buying Secusmart, a privately
held German firm that specializes in voice and data encryption,
in an attempt to burnish its credentials with security-conscious
clients like government agencies.

Sims, who spoke with Reuters at an industry conference in
Las Vegas, sees mobile device management as a commoditized space
with rivals like Good Technology and AirWatch jumping into the
fray. He stressed though, that BlackBerry plans to stay ahead of
the game by offering value-added services like the ones acquired
via the Movirtu and Secusmart deals.
(Reporting by Euan Rocha and Alina Selyukh; Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama and Chris Reese)